‘Case can be filed against anyone, but special permission required if judge has to be booked’: Jagdeep Dhankhar

NEW DELHI: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday reacted to the alleged discovery of cash at Delhi High Court Judge Yashwant Varma’s house, underlining that no FIR has been registered against Justice Varma and said that a case can be filed against anyone in the country, but a special permission is required if a judge has to be booked.

Speaking at the Valedictory Function of the 6th Rajya Sabha Internship Program at Vice-President’s Enclave, Dhankhar said that the cash haul case is an “alarming expose.”

“Let me take the incidents that are most recent. They are dominating our minds. An event happened on the night of the 14th and 15th of March in New Delhi, at the residence of a judge. For seven days, no one knew about it. We have to ask questions to ourselves: Is the delay explainable? Condonable? Does it not raise certain fundamental questions? In any ordinary situation—and ordinary situations define rule of law—things would have been different. It was only on 21st March, disclosed by a newspaper, that people of the country were shocked as never before. They were in some kind of limbo, deeply concerned and worried at this explosive, alarming expose,” Dhankhar said.

“Thereafter, fortunately, in public domain, we had input from an authoritative source: the Supreme Court of India. And the input indicated culpability. Input did not lead to doubt that something was amiss. Something required to be investigated. Now the nation waits with bated breath. The nation is restive because one of our institutions, to which people have looked up always with the highest respect and deference, was put in the dock. It has now over a month. Even if it is can of worms. Even if there are skeletons in the cupboard, time to blow up the can. Time for its lid to go out. And time for the cupboard to collapse. Let the worms and skeletons be in public domain so that cleansing takes place,” he added.

Dhankar said that Democracy is nurtured, its core values blossom, and human rights are taken to a high pedestal when we believe in innocence till guilt is established.

“Not for a moment will I ever say that we must not give premium to innocence. Democracy is nurtured, its core values blossom, and human rights are taken at a high pedestal when we believe in innocence till the guilt is established. Therefore, I must not be misunderstood as casting aspersions on any individual. But then, in a democratic nation, purity of its criminal justice system defines its direction. Investigation is required. No investigation under law is in progress at the moment. Because for a criminal investigation, the initiation has to be by an FIR—First Information Report. It is not there. It is the law of the land that every cognizable offence is required to be reported to the police. And failure to do so—failure to report a cognizable offence—is a crime. Therefore, you all will be wondering why there has been no FIR. The answer is simple,” the Vice President said.

“An FIR in this country can be registered against anyone—any constitutional functionary, including the one before you. One has only to activate the rule of law. No permission is required. But if it is judges—FIR cannot be straightaway registered. It has to be approved by the concerned in judiciary. But that is not given in the Constitution. The Constitution of India has accorded immunity from prosecution only to the Hon’ble President and the Hon’ble Governors. So how come a category beyond law has secured this immunity? Because the ill-effects of this are being felt in the mind of one and all. Every Indian, young and old, is deeply concerned. If the event had taken place at his house, the speed would have been an electronic rocket. Now, it is not even a cattle cart,” Dhankhar said.

The Vice President said that there is a committee of three judges investigating the matter, but the investigation is the domain of the Executive.
“Investigation is not the domain of the Judiciary. Is the committee under the Constitution of India? No. Is this committee of three judges having any sanction under any law emanating from Parliament ? No. A committee can at most make a recommendation. The kind of mechanism we have for judges, the only action that can be taken is by the Parliament,” he said.

He further stated that an investigation requires speed, expedition, and preservation of incriminating evidence, as a month has already passed.

“A month has passed. An investigation requires speed, expedition and preservation of incriminating material. As a citizen of the country and holding position which I do, I am concerned. Are we not diluting rule of law? Are we not answerable to ‘We the People’ who gave us the Constitution? I would strongly urge everyone concerned to examine this as a test case. What legitimacy and jurisdictional authority does this committee possess? Can we have separate law made by a category and the law made by that category, dehors Constitution, dehors Parliament? The committee report, according to me, inherently lacks legal standing,” Dhankhar added.

The Rajya Sabha Chairman said that a survey conducted recently by a media house indicated that public confidence in the institution of the Judiciary is dwindling.

“It is fundamental for success of democracy that the three fundamental pillars—legislature, judiciary, and executive—are above board. They are transparent and accountable. They exemplify to the people at large the highest standards to be emulated. And therefore, the principle of equality, equality before law, has been disregarded. It is fundamental to our democracy. It is nectar of our democracy. Time for us to enforce it,” he said.

The Centre Government transferred Justice Yashwant Varma amidst controversy surrounding allegations of unaccounted cash discovered at his official residence in New Delhi.

On April 15, Justice Yashwant Varma was sworn in as a judge of the Allahabad High Court on Saturday under unusual and contentious circumstances. Departing from the tradition of public ceremonies, Justice Varma took his oath in a private event, a decision that has drawn significant attention.

This development comes amidst an ongoing investigation into allegations of semi-burnt sacks of cash being recovered from his residence just weeks ago. (ANI)